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Thai collection

The collection covers all subject areas, and is especially strong in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Collection profile has always been focused on materials with research value/interest; having said that we have and been maintained a good range of popular publications for general interest as well.

There is an extensive collection of Thai cremation volumes (memorial biographical works published to mark a notable person’s death). The collection also holds three sets of Tripitaka, the principal Buddhist scriptures, in different versions. One of these was a gift from His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, of Thailand. The collection also consists of highly usedful research materials, such as statistical publications, for example Siam or Kingdom of Thailand Year Book, and Royal Thai Government Gazette.

Since 2006 the Library has been acquiring ephemeral materials related to the ongoing Thai political and social turmoil. This substantial collection is available for anybody to inspect at the Library for research or general interest.

Most of the Thai materials are acquired by purchase, and some through exchange programs with contacts in Thailand. The Library has established an Acquisition Program within the Australian Embassy to assist acquisition of further publications in Thailand (Thai Acquisition Program or TAP). The major TAP partner is the National Library of Thailand, along with some other government departments and institutions, and various other donors in Thailand.

The Library’s main collection also contains a variety and substantial of Siam/Thai related English-language publications, they are searchable via the Library online catalogue.

You can also read about the history of the Library's Thai collection in Thai Treasure Trove, a paper by Rosemary Borthwick that was published in the National Library of Australia News.